Trapped
by SkyeRose
Summary: While on a mission to stop the Replicators from taking over Orilla, Jack is forced to make a decision that he might regret. He just doesn't know how much. Written for ShipDay 2013, so you know it's shippy! SamJack, three parter.
1. Chapter 1

**Trapped**

**Part One: Yellow Dot**

**A/N: Written for ShipDay 2013! I've been doing a lot of fluff lately and my page needs a little bit of drama. What better day to do it than the shippiest day of the year! I know today isn't technically shipday, but part two will be up tomorrow, so this is most definitely a ship day story.**

**Enjoy!**

Jack watched the blinking yellow dot move across the screen, his jaw tense as three red dots converged and started racing quickly after the yellow one. "Major Carter," Thor's voice rang out behind him and the screen changed, zooming in on the yellow dot and the quickly diminishing space between it and the three red ones. "You are being pursued by three replicators."

"It's a lot more than that!" Sam's strained voice came over the intercom followed by a volley of gun fire.

Jack squeezed his eyes shut and felt his hands clench into fists. He should've never let her go down there alone. He should have been the one to go. "Carter," Jack held the smooth stone close to his mouth. "Get out of there."

"I'm trying, sir!" Her voice sounded faraway and tense. "More bugs coming from dead ahead!"

Jack glanced up at the screen and felt bile rise into his throat. They weren't just coming from in front of her—they were coming from all sides. "Get to the bail out point, Carter. Now!"

"Negative, colonel! The Naquadah bombs have not been placed, I repeat, they have not been placed!" More gunfire.

"Forget about the bombs, Major. Get out of there!" Jack slammed his free hand on the console in front of him and the dots went out of focus for a moment before snapping back into place.

"No, sir!" Sam sounded really out of breath now and, if he wasn't mistaken…resigned.

"That's an order, Carter!"

"Jack, get her back up here!" Daniel shouted from across the bridge of the Asgard ship. He was watching another screen, one that showed the entire enemy ship instead of just the one section Sam was in.

"I'm trying, Daniel." Jack growled, fear exacerbating his anger. Carter was his responsibility; he was the one that sent her down there. And now she was trapped.

"No, Jack." Daniel spun and pointed at the screen behind him. "They're swarming."

Jack's eyes shot to the screen and his breathing stopped. He was right. There were now more red dots than empty space and they were all converging on the lone yellow dot. "Carter!" Jack shouted, trying and failing to conceal his panic.

"Sir." Sam's voice was quiet and there was no more gunfire. "I'm out of ammo." Fear lanced through Jack and he turned wide eyes on Daniel. "Charges are set, Colonel." Her voice cracked and, if Jack didn't know better, he'd think she was on the verge of tears.

"Great. Now get out of there." Jack's voice dropped, matching her quiet tone.

He heard her take a deep breath. "All exits are blocked, sir."

Jack didn't need to look at the screen to know she wasn't exaggerating. He turned to Thor, anger flashing through him when the alien looked so calm, so composed. "Beam her up!"

Thor turned his big impassive eyes on O'Neill. "I cannot."

Jack glanced between Thor and the screen. "What do you mean you can't? Beam her up!"

"O'Neill!" Teal'c shouted, eyes fixed on the screen he and Daniel were staring at. "The Replicator ship is trying to take off!"

"Their ship's navigation system is set for Orilla. They must not be allowed to leave." Thor blinked slowly, looking at the console in front of him.

"Carter!" Jack turned back to his yellow dot, eyes wide, searching for some way out. His mind was racing, too many thoughts and fears were bombarding him—his only clear thought was that he needed to get down there. He needed to get her.

Before Sam could answer, Thor cut across the channel. "Major Carter, the Replicator ship is preparing to leave. How long until the Naquadah enhanced bombs detonate?"

"Thirty seconds." Jack's heart sank when her staticky reply came over the transmitting device. His mind screamed in protest. Thirty seconds wasn't enough time. It wasn't enough time to save the one thing in the universe he would give anything—_anything_—to save.

He was going to lose her.

"Jack!" Daniel shouted, eyes wide and horrified behind his glasses.

"O'Neill!" Jack blinked and looked at Teal'c as everything around him seemed to slow down- like he was walking through quicksand. He opened his mouth to say something, to spout off some brilliant plan that would save his second.

But nothing came.

Because it was Carter who came up with the brilliant plans.

Sam's soft voice cut through the pudding-like air and Jack's heart stopped. "It was an honor serving with you, sir."

Jack turned back to the screen, his blood roaring in his ears, a hundred words stuck in his throat.

And the screen went blank.

**TBC**

**A/N: Oh, the suspense! Please R and R **

**Happy ShipDay!**

**P.S. I finally convinced my boyfriend to watch Stargate with me and…guys…I don't think he's a SamJack shipper. We just finished season one, so there's still time, right?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two: How She Got There**

**A/N: Happy ShipDay everyone! **

**Enjoy!**

**-One Hour Earlier-**

"We have little time before the Replicators are strong enough to make a course for Orilla." Thor's emotionless tone belied the dire situation. For the third time in less than a year, the Replicators were plentiful enough to make an attack on the Asgard homeworld and, subsequently, the galaxy.

"I think I might have an idea." Sam had her back turned to the rest of the group, her fingers moving restlessly over the stones on the console in front of her.

"Of course you do." Jack rolled his eyes in jest as he approached his second.

Sam turned and gave him an indulgent look before turning her attention to Thor."Thor, you said that ship used to be part of the Asgard fleet?"

"That is correct. It was commandeered some time ago."

"So they've been waiting all this time. But, for what?" Sam looked between Jack and Thor, waiting for one of them to catch her train of thought.

"We are unsure." Thor moved a stone and a diagram of the now enemy ship appeared on the screen in front of him. "This ship does not possess the most current Asgard technology and was believed to be lost in a firefight."

"Right, but Replicators can communicate with each other through their subspace connection. So even if they've been way out here for a long time, there's a good possibility they've never lost communication." Sam looked significantly at Jack and he nodded solemnly even though he was pretty sure he had no clue where this was going.

"That is correct." Thor cocked his head at the Major.

"So what if they've just been waiting? Waiting until there are enough of them to make a legitimate attempt on the galaxy." Sam turned when Daniel raised a finger, a frown on his face.

"But what does that have to do with this ship? Unless you think…" He trailed, understanding flaring in his eyes.

"I do." Sam's smile turned into a small smirk when Jack threw his hands out to the sides.

"What? A trap?" His tone was exasperated, but there was no real anger in it. This banter was the norm, they were so used to this exchange that they hardly felt any urgency in the situation. They'd dealt with the Replicators before and they'd deal with them now.

"No, sir. They're rejoining the mothership." Sam pointed at the screen behind her. "I use that term metaphorically, of course, but essentially this lowly ship has been waiting for the bigger, better Replicator controlled ships to give the word."

"So…this guy isn't the real threat." Jack grimaced at the diagram. Red dots moved in formation all about the infested ship.

"Not the biggest one, no, but still immediate." Sam bit her lip and looked at the colonel. "We still need to destroy it."

"Problem?" Jack asked, eyeing his major and bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"No, sir." Sam smiled brilliantly, a glint in her eyes. "I've been going over the schematics. I think a few choicely placed bombs will do the trick."

"Bombs?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Naquadah enhanced, of course." Sam grinned again, the prospect of getting to blow something up making her beam like a little kid.

"I like the way you think, Carter." Jack tried and failed to stop grinning at her. He knew they'd been smiling at each other too intently and too long to be acceptable, but he didn't care. He had the strangest feeling that nothing could go wrong; not when Sam Carter was smiling at him like that.

Daniel cleared his throat uncomfortably and gave them both a resigned look. He'd been around those two for too long and nothing surprised him anymore. "Uh, guys? That ship isn't going to hang around forever."

"Indeed." Teal'c chimed in, causing all of his teammates to jump.

"T." Jack cleared his throat and looked around, daring anyone to accuse him of being startled."When'd you get back?"

"Most recently, O'Neill." Teal'c bowed his head and stepped aside to reveal the ordinances he'd retrieved from the ring room. "I believe this is everything we requested of General Hammond."

"Nice." Jack walked up and examined the cases. "We've got your bombs, Carter."

"Okay. Then we're all set." She turned to Thor. "Can we beam these to specific locations on the ship?"

"Unfortunately, we cannot. While this ship is not our most advanced, we have had preventative measures against beaming technology in all areas of the ship aside from the transport room for an exceptional length of time." Sam grimaced slightly and turned back to the diagram, her brain going into overdrive.

Jack nudged Daniel and tilted his head at Thor. "Exceptional." He said, careful to keep his voice low. Daniel rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the small smirk that curved his mouth.

"Well, someone's going to have to get over there." Sam turned, a determined look on her face.

"As in, onto the Replicator infested ship? I'm thinking no." Jack turned to Thor."Can't we just beam the bombs to the transport room and blow 'em all at once?"

"We could." Sam pursed her lips doubtfully. "But there's no guarantee the ship's internal dampeners won't diffuse the blast. The ship and all the Replicators on it could still survive."

"So it has to be at those designated points." Daniel pointed at the blue highlighted areas that Sam had programmed onto the screen.

"Yep." Sam rocked back on her heels the way she'd seen her CO often do. "Those are the weak points of the ship. We plant them there," She made a large circle with her hand. "And there's almost no way that they would survive."

"Almost?" Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Well," Sam pulled a face. "Pretty much no way. Almost certainly, sir."

Jack looked at her for a long moment. "Alright. Tell me where to put them."

"I was thinking I'd go." Sam and Daniel both said at the same time, closely followed by Teal'c's, "It should be me who goes."

SG-1 stared at each other for a moment, before Thor piped up. "I believe it should be Major Carter who goes if that is her wish. It is her plan."

"Um, thanks, Thor." Sam smiled slightly and turned to look at the colonel who was now staring at the little alien in surprise.

"I think I'm still the colonel around here." Jack started, but Daniel cut across him.

"And he's a commander." When Jack looked ready to protest, he continued. "Of an entire race."

Jack glared at Daniel and turned back to Sam. "You sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, sir." Sam glanced back at the screen then up at her commanding officer."In and out, no prisoners."

"Carter-,"

"Really, sir." Sam smiled and her hand twitched like she wanted to reach out and touch him.

If Jack caught the movement he didn't show it. "Okay." He turned and gestured for Teal'c to grab the N-bombs."Good luck, Major." He took the bombs from Teal'c and strapped them to Sam's pack. Before he nodded to Thor to beam her over, he leaned close and spoke quietly so only Sam could hear."Don't be late."

Sam turned her head to look at him, trying to ignore how little space was actually between them. "I won't be." She closed her eyes briefly and smiled when he squeezed her shoulder.

Then came the familiar rush of heat and light and she was no longer looking at her team, but the inside of the enemy ship.

**TBC**

**A/N: I know I originally said a two parter, but this chapter kind of ran away from me. So, I've upgraded to a three parter! Next chapter up tomorrow **


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three: Found**

**A/N: Last part! Thank you to all who reviewed!**

**Enjoy!**

**-Present—**

"The replicator ship has been destroyed." Jack turned disbelieving eyes on Thor. "Major Carter was successful."

"Successful?!" Daniel practically shouted, his eyes wet. Teal'c stood silently behind the archaeologist, eyes downcast and mouth set in a hard line. Jack looked down at the white communicator stone in his hand. He hadn't been able to say anything back. He hadn't said a _word_. His last chance to speak to her…to hear her voice…

And he hadn't said anything.

He heard Daniel yelling as though from a distance, but his quiet question cut through the din and everyone turned to look at him. "Life signs?"

"There are none. I am sorry, O'Neill." Thor moved the stones on his console to confirm this statement.

Jack nodded and turned to face his friends; Daniel was staring at him incredulously and Teal'c was glaring at the screen behind Jack, like his very will could bring the yellow dot back.

His yellow dot.

Carter.

"Let's go home." Jack's voice was subdued, quiet.

"Jack!" Daniel yelled, hands balled into fists at his side.

"What, Daniel?" _'Yes,good. Be angry.'_ Jack felt the rage flood through him, grateful to feel anything except loss. Was it really only an hour ago that Carter had smiled at him, his heart beating so hard in his chest he would swear the Replicators could hear it?

"Jack, this can't be it!" Daniel shook off the placating hand that Teal'c had laid on his shoulder. "There has to be something we can do!"

"Like what, Daniel? It's done." _'It's done.'_ He repeated in his head, the gaping hole in his chest expanding. _'But it never even started.'_

"Look I know your instinct is to protect and I know you're trying to protect yourself, but we can't just leave." Daniel took several steps forward, hands raised in front of him like he was approaching a wild animal.

"What do you want me to do, Daniel? Please, tell me. If you know something I don't know, tell me!" Jack spun around and slammed his hand on the console so hard it shook. "Thor, take us home."

"Jack-!"

"Enough!" Jack felt his temper snap and whipped around getting right in Daniel's face. "I would give anything to get her back, Daniel! She knew the risks, we all knew the risks. Don't for one second think that won't haunt me for the rest of my life."

"Why are you being so stubborn? We might be able to do something!"

"I loved her too!" Jack shouted, desperate to make Daniel just stop talking. Daniel's eyes widened and he took a step back. "Just as much as you and Teal'c." The colonel's eyes were hard and his jaw was working like he wanted to say something else, but instead he shook his head and turned away.

"I believe Major Carter knew that, O'Neill." Teal'c said, stepping forward when Daniel couldn't find any words.

"You were family." Jack clenched his jaw, eyes focused somewhere over Daniel's shoulder. "I was her commanding officer."

"Jack, Sam never-," Daniel took a step forward, but stopped when Jack turned his back on him, readjusting his P-90.

"None of that matters now." Jack looked up at the screen, wishing with all his might that a little yellow blip would greet him. But the screen remained blank. Just a black rectangle hanging in the air, mocking him—reminding him of what he'd done.

'_That should be me.'_ The truth of the thought settled like a heavy weight in his stomach. _'It should've been me.'_

"I am setting a course for Earth." Thor wasn't looking at any of them, but Jack heard a distinctly subdued note in the little alien's voice. He knew Thor had a soft spot for Carter and that just made him feel all the worse. He'd let everyone down, including the commander of the Asgard race.

"No, Thor, wait." Daniel turned wide, desperate eyes on Jack. "Maybe she found a way to survive the blast! Maybe something in that wreckage is like an escape pod or a makeshift bomb shelter."

"What wreckage, Daniel?" Jack pointed out the large window without looking up. "It's dust. Everything on that ship is dust."

Daniel swallowed hard, but refused to give up. "Okay, then something else happened. We've been in situations like this before!" Daniel spun in a half circle looking at Teal'c and Thor for support. "Maybe a human replicator was onboard and took pity or maybe Oma stepped in or-,"

"Or maybe she's just-!" Jack cut himself off, unable to say that final word. "Maybe it just is what it is."

The three teammates and Thor stood in a tense, oppressive silence, each lost in their thoughts. Jack turned to the large window and stared at the glittering bits of metal that floated in the black vastness of space and, for one second, wished that he could believe it wasn't his fault.

…

Sam squeezed her eyes shut against the bright light above her and rolled over slightly so it wasn't shining directly in her eyes. Her arm touched cold concrete and she felt goosebumps rising on her skin. Sam squinted, letting her eyes adjust to the light before blinking slowly and pushing herself onto her knees, then to her feet.

She looked around, confusion flooding through her. Familiar gray concrete walls stared back at her and she spun around, looking up at the observation room, her translucent reflection staring back at her. "The SGC?" She wondered aloud, turning a full circle. A single chair sat in the middle of the room, straps dangling from the arms and a band around the headrest.

She knew this room.

But how did she get here? 

"You brought us here." A placid voice said from behind her and she started, whipping around to face whoever had entered the room.

Sam stared at the apparition, her mouth half open. "Daniel?"

"Hey, Sam. What's up?" He wasn't smiling and his eyes seemed different, bluer than usual.

"Not much?" Sam answered slowly, taking a small step back, feeling as her muscles tensed, expecting an attack.

Daniel cocked an amused eyebrow at her. "You don't have to be afraid."

"What is this? Some replicator trick? Where am I?" Sam glanced around surreptitiously, looking for some kind of weapon.

"If it was?" Daniel didn't move, but he seemed suddenly closer, his eyes boring into her.

"Then I guess we'd have a problem."

"If I said I was here to help you ascend?" Daniel adjusted his glasses.

"So, I'm dead?"

"I didn't say that."

Sam clenched her hands into fists and forced her temper down. Fear was beginning to creep in and she desperately wanted answers. "You haven't said anything."

"I have so." Daniel smirked slightly and Sam struggled to remember this wasn't her Daniel.

"You haven't said anything useful." She amended.

"Ah. Well," Daniel took a small step into the room, careful to keep distance between himself and Sam. "I don't imagine you're going to trust whatever I have to say."

"You imagine correctly."

Daniel smiled a little sadly. "You aren't dead. Not yet."

"Not yet?" Sam's leg hit the arm of the chair and she jumped, startled. She hadn't realized she'd been backing up.

Daniel eyed her reaction and correctly read her expression. "You haven't moved. The room is closing in. We don't have much time."

"Time for what?" Sam swallowed hard, feeling like her heart was stuck in her throat. "Why are we here?"

"Earth still needs you. Your friends still need you."

"Why do you care?"

"We have been watching Earth for quite some time. You're a fascinating species." Daniel cocked his head and in that instant, Sam realized whatever he was, he most definitely wasn't human.

"Thanks." Sam said tonelessly, noticing how close the observation window was now. If she reached out she'd almost be able to touch it. "What are you?"

"Just another species." Daniel shrugged.

"That's not an answer." Sam set her jaw.

"The answer isn't important." Daniel took two steps forward so he was directly in front of Sam. "We can save you. We can remove you from your enemy's ship and send you back to your friends. But we need something in return." Sam didn't respond and Daniel took her silence as acquiescence. "We require a new ship."

"I can't help you with that."

"We require the ship you came on."

"I can't promise that." Sam was distinctly aware of how small the room had become. She was running out of time.

"You can promise to convince your friends to relinquish the ship."

"And if I don't manage to? What's stopping them from just leaving once I'm back on board?"

"Our ship's navigation systems are damaged. Not our weapons." He didn't specifically threaten them, but Sam got the idea loud and clear.

"I can't do that." She didn't care if that meant dying. She could never ever promise a ship—especially one that wasn't hers—just to save her life.

"Then you will die. And so will we." Daniel didn't turn away from her, but Sam could feel him closing himself off.

"You said your navigation system is damaged? So, you're lost." Sam was talking before she could think about it. "I can't promise you a ship, but I can promise you a way home."

…

Jack swallowed hard, tasting bile in his throat. How was he going to tell General Hammond he'd lost his second on a bad judgment call—because he'd felt cocky. Hell, how was he going to tell Jacob?He shook his head; he couldn't think about that right now. Not with Daniel behind him still trying to work out a way to save her and Teal'c who had yet to say anything.

He was about to turn around and demand once again that they go home when something outside the window caught his eye. The bit of space directly in front of the Asgard ship was shimmering, like a heat wave was moving across the vacuum. Then, one by one, the stars were blotted out, replaced by a huge, looming black shape.

"Uh, guys." Jack said, not turning away from the giant ship that had just materialized in front of them. Before he could say anything else, Thor spoke up.

"Ship's censors have detected-,"

But Jack cut him off. "A big, honkin' ship!"

"Oh, my god." Daniel was suddenly behind him.

"It is not of Goa'uld origin." Teal'c said from the other side of the bridge.

"O'Neill." Thor's voice was slightly frustrated. "My ship's sensors have also detected the unidentified vessel. But, more pertinent, they have detected another life sign."

"Where?" Jack whipped around so fast he almost knocked Daniel off his feet. "Human, replicator, puppy dog, _what?_"

"Human. Onboard this ship."

Jack was off and running before Thor managed to pass along the very helpful information of where the life sign was. He ran without thinking, skidding around corners, and it wasn't until he was thoroughly lost that he even bothered to be upset that he hadn't waited. But he couldn't have.

If that was Carter…if there was even a chance she was alive and onboard, there was nothing that could stop him from finding her—or even slow him down.

He was about to shout out, hoping that Thor would hear him somehow when a soft footstep behind him made him freeze. Praying that it wasn't Daniel or Teal'c coming to find him, he turned. And he felt his heart stop.

Carter was standing in front of him looking exactly like she had when she'd been beamed to the replicator ship. No scratches or burns or any signs or injury. The only difference was the lack of a weapon, which he could only imagine was lost when she ran out of ammo. "Hi, sir."

"Hi, sir." He repeated, incredulity entering his voice. Sam just gave him a small, tired smile and Jack felt something inside of him break. He had never been that close to losing her and the fact that she was somehow—_somehow_—standing right there in front of him, smiling…

In one motion, Jack closed the distance between them, unclipping his own weapon and letting it fall to the floor. Then he was pulling her towards him, her hands clutching his uniform and her head pressed against his chest. "Christ, Carter." He dropped his face to her neck and took a deep breath, hardly daring to believe she was actually here.

"I'm okay." Sam said, answering his unspoken question. Her voice was muffled by his chest, and he felt her words more than heard them.

"Good, that makes one of us." He didn't care that he was a little breathless and he definitely didn't care that he was breaking nearly every regulation just by holding her like this.

Sam tightened her grip on his shirt and let herself just breathe him in for a moment. She knew she had to tell Thor what she'd promised the aliens, but at the moment, that was less important than the colonel's embrace. She had honestly believed she would never see him again, the mere thought tearing her apart inside. She replayed the last seconds of her interaction with the alien and felt her hands clench even tighter to him.

"_So we're agreed? A tow is sufficient?" Sam glanced at the quickly enclosing walls._

"_We're agreed." The alien made to turn, but Sam called him back. "Why Daniel?"_

"_This image was of the one closest to you." Daniel replied almost as if he'd expected the question._

"_Daniel?" Sam couldn't help but be a little confused. And she knew that if she weren't seconds away from dying she wouldn't think anything of it, but she figured what the hell?_

"_Your Colonel O'Neill is who you were expecting. But your judgment is clouded by him more so than any other. We needed to you think clearly."_

_Before Sam could respond her eyes opened, though she had no memory of closing them, and she was blinking in the bright light of Thor's ship._

After a long moment, Jack pulled away, holding her at arm's length and giving her a critical once over. She smiled, this time indulgently. "I'm fine, sir. Really."

Before he could stop himself, his fingers brushed a few strands of hair off her forehead and she swallowed, meeting his intense gaze. "Carter." He began, but Sam covered his hand with her own.

"When we get home." She deliberately left his title out of her sentence and knew instinctively that he noticed. Jack nodded, his smile growing wider when she returned it, bouncing on her heels and uttering a phrase that could have come straight from his own mouth. "Now, let's go see an alien about a ship."

**End**

**Hope you guys liked it!**


End file.
